Just shut up and listen for once

The Telegraph this week has reported that The UK Drug Policy Commission’s report “Taking Drugs Seriously” says current laws ‘not fit for purpose.’

The government tells us that they are going to crack down on users and suppliers, as the previous government did, and the one before that told us the same. Even the government before that one told us a different version of the same thing. However drug supply and use continues to increase year on year.

All of the time that our society is built the way it is, there will be drug problems; it is only the extent and nature of those problems that will vary, but the sad fact is that people will continue to lose their lives needlessly on a daily basis.

Alcohol is legal even though it has appeared in various lists as one of the top five most dangerous drugs available and is directly linked to tens of thousands of preventable deaths every year. It is therefore farcical that the reasons given for some other drugs illegality is that they are dangerous!

The Government of course knows why so many of the population are addicted to drugs but appears reluctant to take any credible action to solve the real causes because that would alienate some of their own voters and hit revenues.

Instead it seeks to use punish and control techniques to achieve the illusion of an ordered society, and of course to protect their own interests. Not forgetting the interests of those that they really represent.

The illusion is however wearing thin. Technology means that there is less and less for people to actually do to generate income. It is usually cheaper to manufacture abroad and outsourcing is often seen as the only way to stay competitive. Fractional reserve banking means that money is little more than data on hard drives, but remains all powerful despite its lack of relevance to tangible resources.

More and more people are ‘getting the picture’ but feel powerless to change it. Drug addiction is a natural consequence. It is not Drug and Alcohol policy that needs a rethink as it has all been tried before and none of it works.

The truth just might work, but that would mean a Government that is fluent in it.